The Crystal Bearers: The After Crystal
by Koganeiro
Summary: Layle was okay, but no one really ever did find out what happened. Keiss has a dirty secret, Belle won't give up on Layle, and Amidatelion did not leave the world in red crystal. After the end they went on with their lives.
1. Chapter 1

Authors Note: I thoroughly enjoyed Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers, so I wanted to make an 'after the end' fan fiction. No doubt this will become something I want to update but never get the chance to, oops. And I realize that this is a really short chapter, my apologies.  
Not really a warning, but if you don't like male x male pairings, then you may not want to read this later on.  
The Crystal Bearers belongs to Square Enix. Plot and OCs are all I own here.

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"So much for 'legit info', Belle," Keiss sighed. "It's been a year. As much as I know you'd hate to, you need to accept reality."

And indeed it had been a year. The two sat atop the tall, erect mast of the ship in the Selkie Guild. Everything had been recovered since the military had ransacked the place months earlier when arresting them all. No one had ever fully recovered from the shock of seeing half their members turn to a red crystal before their eyes, at least not yet, but the guild was filled with the chipper sounds of talking and laughter echoed off the walls of the cove. Life was once more regulated for them all.

"He's out there! I know he is!" Belle stood. "You know, just because we haven't found him doesn't really mean anything. For all we know, he could be on the verge of death as we speak. Even if you've given up on your friend, I'm not giving up on Layle!" for the first time in a long time, the brunette Selkie sounded upset. Stomping her foot aggressively stomped her foot on the mast, she added, "Because I know he's out there!"

Enraged, the female Selkie jumped dangerously from atop the mast, only to land gracefully at the bottom. Belle had no will, nor the desire to say any more to the young guild leader at the moment, so she starting running off the second her first foot hit the wooded ground. How dare Keiss! Layle had been his best friend, hadn't he? It raised the question if Keiss even cared or not- he had been the one that gave up earliest.

Damn bastard.

The female Selkie was running fast, as fast as she could to Costa Faguita. The Selkie Train could take her to the capital of the Lilty Kingdom, where she could talk to Altea, or to Bridge Town where she could talk to Cid. If the guild had no new information, those two would be the only ones left who may know anything. And if they didn't, she would continue to search. As much as she failed to admit it- but was finally acknowledging it- Layle had been her friend, and she wasn't going to give up searching.

Her shoes slapped the wet terrain of the cave leading to the Hush-Hush Pond, hitting her legs and dirtying her attire slightly. Not that it mattered; attire could be cleaned. Whenever she stepped on an awkward angle, she righted herself before pain caught in her system or before she fell. Whether it was determination to find Layle, or to prove Keiss that he was wrong (or both), there was fierce determination within her that had newly budded.

Stupid Keiss...

_Even if you've given up, I'm not giving up on Layle!_

Even now that the sun had set, Keiss was still thinking about what Belle had said to him an hour ago. And in reality, the words stung a little, which was so unlike him. Very little ever hurt the male Selkie. A year ago, when Layle first disappeared after the battle with Jigran, he had accepted that he was most likely dead, no questions asked. Did he even feel anything then? Had he felt anything since then?

A little twinge at first, and some regret. That was it. His insides sunk at that realization; he had blocked from feeling sad for his best friend. What kind of monster was he? Jigran was bad, but he was coming close to that sadly low level, if he wasn't already there. In a few ways, he was worse than Jigran- at least the late Lilty had some feeling. Often, Keiss couldn't even feel for himself.

Those thoughts made it all crash down on him. Since he hd been partners with Layle- no, before even that- most emotions had been kept locked away. Discarded, named as useless. But now, the Selkie man could see that had been the wrong choice- it was hitting him hard. A knife in his gut, a gun to his head, tons of steel beams raining down on him... He could feel it all at once, emotionally dissecting him. He needed to get inside, to be alone, _now._ Otherwise the gild wold see a side of him they never had before, a weak side, and that was not good.

Using careful footing, he stood to his feet, and slid down the mast carefully. His toes hit the bottom carefully, and he let himself, go, walking around the small fence built around the base of it. Other men and women waved to him as he walked past, but he tried to keep his head down as he acknowledged them. The only one he dared look into the eye to was the only pregnant woman here, and he entered the ship itself.

"Hello, Keiss," since she had found out she was pregnant, Juira had been made chipper than her usual, snotty self. Perhaps it was due to the hormones, or the fact that she was the first female to become pregnant since the catastrophe a year ago. It could also be well due to the fact that she was bearing the child of one of the most admired men here at the guild. All were all well and done questions, but no one really knew the answer.

"Good evening, Juira," Keiss answered, trying to keep his voice as flat and calm as it usually was, but had no idea if he was succeeding or not. But the way the woman kept her peace and gleeful smile was enough to tell him that he was, and glanced down at the hand delicately residing on the three-month bump of her stomach. The rest of it was coated with strings of tribal, fertility beads to ensure that the pregnancy went well. What with Selkies being fairly sexual a lot (the outfits alone said that) but a low pregnancy and birth rate, as the small amount of Selkie children implied, newborns and possible newborns were cherished greatly.

"Is something wrong, Keiss?" she spoke after a lon silence, her face twisting into one of suspicion and mild anger.

"No, I just have something on my mind. Keep the baby healthy," he smiled slightly with the corners of his mouth, silently wishing her every hope that the child would be born healthy and fully. Without living her another moment's chance to reply, he moved on down the steps of the ship in long strides.

A group of chatty females strutted by him, giggling, headed in the opposite direction. _You've given up!_ No... Had he really given up? He wouldn't, couldn't anymore- the pain was too much to bear. Maybe Layle was alive somewhere. While Keiss was too upset to do anything himself right now, he was the guild leader, and that itself worked wonders. So he stopped walking.

"Hey girls," he suddenly spoke in as normal as a tone he could get, turning around. "Information on Layle, the possibly late Clavat crystal bearer. Five thousand gil and forward, spread the word along," with those words, he continued to walk to his headed destination, satisfied by the choruses of 'Sure!'

Without further interruptions, Keiss strode to his room in the very core of the ship, the room that used to be Vaigali's. And upon the soft, lovely bed, he did the only thing he could right now- he cried.


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note:  
Very late update, and again, not a very lnog one- though probably much longer than the first chapter in comparison. I want to thank everyone who has reviewed and subscribed to this story, love you all!

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The hooded woman approached him, hands wringing themselves nervously. She often wasn't one to talk to people, but curiosity was eating away at her like an incurable disease . The Clavat strutted along nervously on the polished floor. Right foot, left foot- each step toward the solitary person weighed her feet ore and more, until her feet were practically dragging across the beautifully done floor.

"You, ah, uhm..." her voice was almost nonexistent, softer than even Althea's. "E-excuse me, sir-r?"`the shyness within her was preventing her from making a coherent sentence between her lips. The other figure turned to face her, eyes hollowly staring out at the poor, intimidated woman from under the hood.

"Yes?" the male voice was totally casual, almost lighthearted, despite however dark the hood made him seem.

"I was just, y-you know... Wondering... You haven't left here in a long time, have you...?" her voice trailed off at the end, body fidgeting, as the Clavat woman looked away.

"I was planning on leaving soon, if that's what you meant," with those few, simple words, the female's temporary companion walked away. She held her arm out, meaning to say that wasn't what she had meant, but her words were lost in her throat.

Belle walked out of the palace, formally escorted by one of the royal guards, looking totally dejected. Althea had no new information on Layle- not a thing. She- not unlike Keiss- was offering money on anyone who had legitimate information on the crystal bearer. Just in smaller amounts. Yet so far, there had been nothing- not even those trying to get money the easy way here.

"I can get to the shuttle on my own, you know!" the brunette snapped at he guard, irritated and frustrated. Logic pointed to that, if Layle hadn't come back after a year, he was hurt somewhere. The damn guy was alive- Selkie and female intuition said so! Without a word of apology to the abused guard, she dashed off, quickly as any Selkie could. Being of the fastest race was useful, and it made her wonder sometimes why Selkies WOULDN'T steal when the have such quick talent. Alone, Belle boarded the shuttle back to the Shuttle Station Platform- if she acted swiftly enough, she might still make the last run to the Desert Prisons station for the day. After all, that was the fastest way to get to Cid.

"Keiss! Hey, Keiss!" The redheaded leader turned gracefully to face the Selkie that was calling his name. Approaching was a group of three; two redheaded males and one female, who seemed to be leading the trio.

"Yeah?" was the single-worded reply, lazing against a rail with just an arm for support. Something in him broiled the urge and high hopes that they had found Layle- or his cold, dead body- but told himself that he was being stupid. Good thing he was able to keep up such a calm demeanor at times of such intense emotion. Though the foolish part of his mind was telling him, 'Why would they approach you if they didn't have any news on him?'

"We found something!" the man to the leader's left told the redhead excitedly, signalling to his brother, who was obviously his twin, to take it out. Meanwhile, the guild leader's heart had dropped from his chest directly down into his pelvis; the Selkie had known it. He shouldn't have gotten his hopes up. 'Him', 'the Clavat', or 'someone' would have referred to his long lost friend. Not a bland 'something.'

"Oh, really?" his subconscious through a small celebration at his ability to remain nonchalant. Keiss tossed his facial attention out to sea. "Well, what is it?" came the obvious question, his dangling arm throwing itself lazily into one of his famous hand gestures. Following the old rule of 'show, don't tell,' the party member to the female's right carefully removed the object of the topic. From the right angle, part of the item reflected the setting sun's rays into Keiss's eyes, causing him to squint. "Hey! Careful there!" he demanded of the member, though not angrily in the least.

"Sorry Keiss," the first twin apologized for his brother, while his sibling shot a narrow look at him. The group leader got quickly fed up, and thwacked them both in the head, her mouth upturning into a satisfactory smile. The item was dropped into Keiss's hand.

In an instant, his heart came out of his pelvis and shot so high it landed in his throat. "Layle's goggles?" He turned them over in his hand. Yep, these were definitely the blonde's custom-made goggles. "Where'd you find these?" he asked, standing up properly from where he had been lazing.

"In the mountains on the way to the monastery," came the girl's prompt reply. "It was buried in the snow by one of the wild chocobo nests closer to the Ice Pilgrim Cave. Or whatever they're calling it. -So, reward?"

"Six thousand gil for you all individually. See me about it when I get back."

"Get back?" they questioned him, so perfectly simultaneously that it was more than just a little creepy.

By the time he needed to reply, the ex-colonel was already halfway up a ladder. "I'm going into the mountains. And no pillaging the guild's treasury, you three." The trio hid a mix of guilty and snickering faces. "Good thing you won't be able to find it anymore." Stunned silence would have been his reply, if he had been listening, but he had already grabbed the rope with his hand. The short moments where the air blew past him like gales without his feet being on the ground was pure bliss.

The mountains by the monastery hm? Well, there were countless possibilities, especially since it had been a year, that place was constant blizzard and possibly the coldest place on the planet.

One scenario in his head was that, during that long plummet, his goggles had ripped off of his head and had been able to get tossed several miles away due to how high up they had been, and landed in the snow. Another was that his landing was in the snow, bearer powers exhausted, and he had frozen there. Somewhere. Every other option that came to mind quickly was gory, filled with gut-splattering and blood-spilling, and the Selkie would rather not think about that since it involved his pretty well only real friend.

He dove into the flowing river inside the save, intending to get to the train station fast as possible. Yes, if it was an emergency he could always demand a late-night run- there not to if he could. definitely _was_ perks to being the guild leader- but the male with the incredibly large forehead would prefer

He spit out water as he resurfaced in the small pool, hoisting himself up onto the rocky ledge. Personally, he liked it better here than the Hush-Hush Pond or at Costa Faguita. The scenery was a little less generic, wasn't as touched as other places, slower, much more calming and to put it frankly had less people. He liked being alone or with just one or two people; the crowdedness of other places didn't fit well with the Selkie leader.

The sun had almost dropped from thee sky at this, point, only the tiniest sliver viewable from the horizon, spreading a long ray of yellow-white light across the water. As much as the male would have like dot gaze at it, he would rather not go blind from the harsh beam, and needed to make the train. Eve as he rushed through to the Hush-Hush Pond at a frighteningly quick pace, the man couldn't help but notice that the area was a little more void of people than usual at this time of day. Often looters and thieves would regroup in these areas after robbing unsuspecting Clavat tourists.

There had probably been a monster attack from a miasma stream earlier. That was probably it.

Keiss ran up onto the deck at the sound of the Selkie train, sighing. Knowing his luck, he had probably just missed it. Fantastic. Shaking his head at his own bad luck, he hefted himself on top of one of the closed vendors. Oh well; alone, the beach was a peaceful enough place. It cooled to a reasonable amount in the night, the moon was almost always in sight and the sound of the waves was relaxing.

"Heheh, screw paying!" the wind whooshing past the female was hard and wild, causing her hair to flail in several different directions. The brunette Selkie wasn't in the train, but rather atop it, clutching the roof. Thank you jerkface attendant that knew she was buddy-buddy with Keiss but wouldn't elt her on for free or with discount _anyway._

Stupid asshole.

Even so, he had shown her something she'd be missing. Right now, she was on the fasted speed transportation, for _free,_ had a much better view of the scenery, and gained an adrenalin rush to boot. This was fabulous.

"Aah!" she covered her eyes with the sleeve of her jacket, ducking down as bit as sad rose up to challenge her in the wind. Okay, so scratch 'better view of the scenery' for the moment, but it was still free. Not paying money was always lovely if you could save a buck (or several).

The Selkie woman heard the release of pressured gas as the train began to slow down a few minutes later, the Prison Sands station not far ahead. She finally dared to squint her eyes back open a crack, muscles sore at the motion from being thoroughly squeezed shut for so long. Belle edged her way along the edge of the back cart, dangling off the side ready to drop off. "Wo-oah!" her lithe body swayed dangerously at the halt of the train, nearly losing her grip. She let go, dropping to the ground, landing perfectly balance on her feet. After doing that for so long, such a short fall was no big deal.

With swift and silent steps, the female ushered herself along, blending in with the small crowd that was either climbing aboard to or leaving the train. Stupid attendees and conductor wouldn't suspect a thing about using the train illegally... Well, sort of illegally.

The walk to Cid's Workshop was just a short distance away, made even shorter by her upbeat job. Even though everything about her was detonating happiness, smugness, and probably even a touch of Selkie mischief, inside her mind was now locked on to its mental target; Asking Cid about anything he knew.

"Hah!" she pulled the enormous, red lever down to the building with both hands, causing the door to open up. "Hey Cid!" she called, stepping into his workshop. After not getting an answer for after, quite literally, only a second, she proceeded to yell again. This time, in a higher, shriller voice, "Ciiiid~!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" the answer came this time, to prevent further raising of the female's tone. "You know Belle, you could stand to be a little more patient," the older man added, lumbering his large body from the back of the workshop. "Or at least look around thoroughly before making any assumptions."

"Yeah, yeah," she waved it off casually, voice already returning to normal as she physically 'waved it off.' "Anyway, Cid," the brunette continued, placing a hand on her hip as her weight shifted to one side, "have you gotten any news on Layle lately? You know, seen him or heard of anyone whose gotten any news on him? Not even the guild network had gotten anything, let alone princess Altea." A hand casually came p and drifted down as she finished talking.

First came the chuckle, then the expected headshake. "Belle, you know the Guild gets more information and faster than anything. No Clavat, Lilltie or Yuke could even hope to get any data on world happenings faster than you Selkies in the guild."

"I just need a yes or no!"

"No, of course," was the reply, in his usual tone. The Clavat reached over to open a drawer by his desk, rummaging through it after opening the shades on his glasses. "To be honest with you, I haven't been watching for him so much for about the past month. I've been investigating something that, I guess you could call, mysterious."

"Mysterious?" this had Belle's full attention. Sure, she was on a quest for her friend, but there was no harm in... Looking into things 'mysterious' on the side.

And, of course, whenever something unusual was happening, an opportunity for potential profit was represented.

Taking his desired tool, the engineer shut the drawer, and straightened his back and legs. "Yeah. Don't you remember, the crystal shards were from the broken Yuke crystal."

"So?" the busty girl asked, crossing her arms across his chest in a lazy fashion. She follow Cid to the far side of his rounded workshop, steeping much slower than usual; that old guy could only be defined as 'as slow as molasses going uphill in a blizzard' in comparison to the Selkie standards of speed and agility.

"If we no longer have crystal shards, don't you find it a bit odd that crystal-reactors, and anything else otherwise powered by the same shards, which are now where they should be, are still running? By all law of physics, they shouldn't be."

"Well, what about those red crystals Jigran left behind? They worked with the same power, didn't they? And after crystalizing that ship, there'd probably be enough," she shrugged.

"Maybe, if not for the fact the Yukes destroyed all of them in honor of Amedatelion and there's an absence fo crystals totally. Didn't you notice."

"Not really. The only interested I ever had in those things were finding stray ones to sell at an insanely high price. Anyway," she turned to leave, "I better get doing if you don't have any news," she half-waved him a goodbye.

"The train's already gone, so where do you plan on staying?" The thin girl stopped dead in her tracks at the realization, pulling her into silence. "Heh I have a spare room."

"Yeah. Thanks."


	3. Chapter 3

_It's been almost a year since my last update, I know. I've had this half-finished laying around for several months, and I got up and finally finished it today. If the writing style seems to waver, i worked on and off on this for about eleven months, so I apologize. _

_I do, however, hope you enjoy! Also, this is the last warning that there will be male-on-male romance and possibly sexual relations later on, and no, I won't give out a warning of when it starts like some authors do; I find it takes away anticipation and surprise from any story, well or badly written._

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The blundering cold from the top of the mountain was sharing its cool air with the Red Leaf Station, hitting Keiss's delicate face soothingly. It hit his hair, drafting it with feathery movements as he walked along calmly. He was revived from an overnight sleep at the beach, and the sun's rays were absolutely gorgeous in a place as colorful as this. Mainly Clavats who were descended from the mountains, or farmers on a visit or vacation, littered the area, though there were relaxing Selkies in the hot spring. The flurries on the mountaintop wouldn't wait for him, but even if he rushed, none of the snow would be the same upon the ground.

Some of the nicer Clavats greeted him with wide smiles, disregarding the oblivious Selkie folk in the background. He acknowledged them in return with a raise of his hand, making eye contact only with those he passed as he began to ascend the base of the mountain with quiet steps. He vaguely remembered the time he and Layle had ventured their way up here in pursuit of Amidatelion, thinking her to be the bad guy. Or just a wad of cash to be caught.

Keiss had lied many times to the rest of the Selkies saying that he hadn't felt guilty about it all, but to tell them the truth would have caused meaningless drama. There was nothing that could be done about it now; Amidatelion was dead after having sacrificed herself for Layle- or so was the rumor- and that was that. Some would disagree with the male, specifically some of the Yukes, saying she deserved every bit of recognition given to her, and that her true face should be revealed and taught to every youngling. Others, those like Keiss himself, thought that it be best to let the matter die, and let her soul rest in peace.

The air started to chill more than before, an evil aura sneaking up upon the inhabitants and visitors of the area. Everyone started to flee in every imaginable way, each individual headed for a safer spot as the miasma stream started to open up. The redheaded Selkie also began to flee much quicker than before, running effortlessly uphill. His efforts proved futile as several goblins, accompanied by a goblin samurai, jumped out of the stream. The plain goblins themselves were decisively easy foes, but the samurai would take time he didn't want to spare.

Goblins yelped as they were thrown carelessly aside amidst the redhead's powerful dash, the goblin samurai being caught by a well-aimed throwing knife, and getting pinned against the wall. Keiss kept moving, heading into the Pilgrim Cave. He could always return for the knife later on.

He let out a breath of air as his pace slowed, the shrieking of the goblins being left far behind. Lucky for anyone, any monsters seemed to have a strange attachment to whichever miasma stream from which they emerged, so leaving to a different area was a common retreat tactic, used even by the Lilltie's bold military should the need arise. A few of the hooded voyagers passed him, in line, silently.

He stopped, just to casually but seriously tell them, "A miasma stream is open, you should wait a few minutes." he continued, not waiting long enough for even their nods of thanks as he continued up the slope.

"Morning," Belle strutted about the workshop in her usual fashion, attitude swaying back and forth like her hips did.

"Hey! You're finally up," the Lilty greeted his guest, pulling up his goggles as he looked up from his newest invention.

"You're an inventor, you think that you could invent a bed with a few less springs?" the Selkie whined, arching her back forwards in a push-out of her ribcage, hand rubbing it. A few faint crunches of the bone could be heard, and that's when she released the awkward pose. "I appreciate a place for the night, beats sleeping under a bridge in the rain, but really. Bet-ter beds!" the largely-busted women tried to emphasise her final comment with a little cheeriness, but Cid was unaffected.

She looked around the shop when there was no reply, just Cid putting his goggles back on and getting back to work. There was half-written instruction manuals strewn about, some beside, under, or on top of gadgets. The brunette picked up one of the guides, and leafed through it, finding it was Cid's handwriting. ""Mn," the corner of her mouth twitched out of boredom, and she dropped it on the floor, before coming up to one of the chests. "Hmm..." the Selkie hummed softly to herself, greedy instincts kicking in. With a quick look over her shoulder to glance at the mechanics busy behaviour, she clicked it opened quietly. Belle grabbed a handful of Gil, and shut the chest, stuffing the coins down her shirt.

"Some hospitality you have here," she jumped onto the chest in a sitting position, and crossed one leg over the other. "No breakfast waiting? No asking me what I want? You're kinda rude to your guests."

"If you want food, there's restaurants down at the shops," the overweight inventor didn't even look up.

"Hey! That`s rude, shooing off a guest to get breakfast somewhere else. And not even giving her any money to pay for it, at that!"

"I heard you steal some of my Gil there, Belle." her face looked awkward, and she blushed as he continued, "Besides, do I look like I have a kitchen in here?" The slender Selkie looked left, and right, and realized he was right.

"Fiiine," she whined in her usual tone. "But I'm keeping the change!" still huffing at her failure to steal money and a meal, she left the workshop with an angry face on. "Ooooh! I forget where Layle said the shortcut into town was!- Ew!" looking down, the Guild member realized she had come outside and stepped right in a bag of garbage. Mucky, gooey garbage, that was sticking to her foot. She kicked, sending the garbage bag into some poor, unsuspecting Lilty guard. "Oops," she bolted, hoping to duck out of any potential witness's sight lines.

In the main sector of Bridge Town, she saw mostly Lilties, which was no surprise, along with a pickpocketing Selkie here and there. Again, not unusual. What was abnormal, however, was the number of moogles in town.

"Ee~ee~eehh..." the treasure-lover put her hands up delicately, as if she had almost touched something gross, trying to figure out what was going on. "This is creepy..." The weirdest part was that all of them turned their heads to look at her when she passed by them, or vice versa. Each of them all had a weird look in their eye when they made eye contact, too.

"Hmm..."

The blustering wind did nothing to waver the cloaked figure from his path. Any dents that his feet made in the snow were covered in only minutes, filled in by the white. The blue pilgrim cloak was wrapped well around the masculine body, and no matter how hard the wind blew, the hood didn't lift enough to reveal much more than an angular chin to any onlookers.

There was often a hopeless, melancholy feel to the pilgrims that travelled through the snow up here on the mountain, and it was enough to keep others away. For some it wasn't the case- they were just trying their best to get through the cold. Others did like to have this sense of secret identity to the rest of the world, outside of the monastery. For this reason, few approached the silent travellers of the Clavat tribe, and fewer still ever stayed around them. This made it easy to go by undisturbed.

On the other side of the mountain, emerging from the ice caves, was Keiss. Despite the blistering winds and his lack of a jacket or coat of any kind, the wind and snow did nothing more than bite into his skin and freeze it a little. The Selkie didn't feel pained or slow down at all, nor did any other Selkie in a region like this. Only they and the Yukes could hold their own without warm protection and head high in such extreme conditions. Looking left and right, he sighed, white air blown away from between his lips.

One boot stuck the deep snow, and then another after it. As Keiss shuffled along slowly, he ignored the icy bites from the bits of crunchy white that snuck through the tiny gaps in his boots. And he did well; none of the nearby Pilgrims would have guessed his ankles were wet and numb from looking at his face. "Holy shit-" the redhead jumped back in surprise, narrowly missing an attack from a wild chocobo. He looked at the cave he had accidentally stumbled too near to, which apparently held an active chocobo nest. The giant bird wheeled around to charge him again, leaving little reaction time for the Selkie victim.

Keiss's incredible speed allowed most of his body to feint out of danger and to the right, though the offender managed to ram into his left shoulder, sending him off balance. His foot caught ice, and the Guild leader fell backwards into the snow. The black bird triumphantly strutted back to her nest.

"Damn birds," he exhaled as a cold breath quietly, waiting. After a few moments, when it seemed like the wild chocobo had abandoned its desire to maul him to death for good, he rose before hypothermia could begin. The bird heard him shaking snow out of his now-disorderly hair and clothes, turning to his direction. Doing what a Selkie does best, the redheaded leader turned and sprinted away at high speeds. For good measure, he continued to run even after the sprinting became anaerobic, darting past a group of pilgrims on what was almost a road. No bird was going to get him, again.

Holding himself up at the bridge, Keiss caught his breath, panting harshly to take in what oxygen the dry air could offer him. He looked across the bridge, though through the storm couldn't he see it, was the Monastery.

Belle poked at her food with her fork in annoyance. "So many moogles..." the Selkie mumbled, twirling noodles around her own eating utensil before sticking them in her mouth hungrily. As she chewed, she scanned as many as she could out of the corner of her eye, trying to evaluate the creatures. Any of them that caught her eye gave her the creepy, closed eye stare they usually did. Though only about two thirds of her meal was gone, being watched by so many of the alien-like creatures was unnerving. "Fucking spooky," the female added, standing up and drop-kicking the tray the food was on. When that proved to catch the attention of more than the moogles, she made an immediate dash for Cid's place.

"Cid? Cid!" Belle demanded the attention of said Lilty, feet hitting the metallic floor ungracefully as she rushed into his shop. "Cid!" the brunette shouted again, looking around. Spotting the large figure bent over behind his counter, she rushed over in smaller, quieter steps. "Cid! There are a TON of moogles in town!" a fist banged the counter, being shaken and rubbed when the owner of the small right hand realized how tough the counter really was.

"Careful there, I just put a new steel top on that," the shop owner warned too late in his usual tone. Belle shot him a look of annoyance, once that said 'You could have said that sooner.' Straightening himself up, he finally looked at his guest. "And so what? They're probably just out on garbage patrol. There are a lot of them that are willing to do that here, you know." Brushing off the issue easily, the mechanic and inventor turned himself around, going back to repairing a steam engine for the Lilty Royal Guard. He got down on one knee with a wrench in his hand as the stubborn Selkie joined his side immediately.

Placing her hands on her hips, as she had done to Layle before, the busty female huffed. "I _know _that there's a lot of moogles that do work here! But these aren't them!" between Layle, Keiss, and now Cid not listening to what she said, the Selkie was frustrated. Why shouldn't people listen to her? After all, not only was she a Guild Member, master of information, but she exchanged it all for a business!

Friggin' chauvinists.

Without any further hesitation, she continued in her angered tone, "These ones are too clean! It's like they all suddenly moved away from the Moogle Station just to sit and watch me eat with their creepy eyes!"

Cid had been starting to believe her, until the last sentence she spoke. Her dramatics were getting the better of him, and hanging his head with a slight shake, the male sighed. "The world isn't against you, Belle."

"It sure feels like it sometimes."

"Maybe you should stop doing illegal things- both as a living and for fun," the inventor retorted, his full attention shifting back to the broken machine.

Embarrassment and anger hit Belle in the face, turning it red beyond belief. "I mean it, Cid! Something's _not right!"_ she stomped the ground for each stressed word. Despite that, Cid didn't flinch, didn't move, at all. Either he was too engrossed in his work to pay attention, or he was ignoring her. And Belle knew him well enough that either was entirely likely.

After its lengthy period of destruction, the Yuke crystal shone with all the right, glory, and magic that the Yuke tribe itself was made up of.

Their land was learning how to prosper once more. Though because of their current state, the kingdom itself had been sealed off from outsiders with a ring of water once the ruins had emerged, and just like thousands of years ago, the home of the Yukes was an island. As traditionalists, they returned their only mode of entrance and escaping the city by the bridge that only they could create and destroy, and for the most part, outsiders wouldn't see it. Due to reconstruction of the city and revival of lives, only those who were leaders were permitted to enter the city, such as Keiss or Althea. Any trading of sorts occurred on the other side of the bridge.

The entire island was protected by a thick blanket of magic. A dome, though several miles high, prevented anyone of any tribe from entering or leaving by any means but the bridge, and its strength so severe that looking through it distorted the image. After years of spending their lives on the edge of oblivion, all Yuke people longed to see the world, but understood that safety and stability came first. It was agreement that once everything was ordered and established, the thickness of the veil would be lifted, and the outside world would be joined with the island.

The city itself was thriving, returning to the old-fashioned curved ramps in every direction, with the Yuke crystal shining high in the very center. All of the shops and houses revolved around it, and except for the town square in the middle for guests and ceremonious festivals, the only other special place was the High Chambers for important guests to rest. No one in the Yuke tribe deemed themselves more important than another. Places of private ceremony and those very special to the Yuke tribe were to be held underground, directly below the shining tribe crystal.

One particular Yuke, one who had more of a mask-shaped face and small angel-like wings on his back sat at a wooden desk. The room was tidy and organized, not a speck of dust anywhere to be seen, but the age of the items and the lighting made it seem like an elder scholar's room. He took a single sheet of blank paper out of a stack, careful with it, as paper wasn't something to be wasted. At the moment, nothing could afford to be. Misevey was the Yuke 'in charge' of the tribe at the moment. Though they hated to hold a strict leader, until all operations were smooth, they needed one. As an older man, not quite an elder, Misevey was settling down and becoming quieter, even by the race's standards.

He took a quill out of a full ink bottle, beginning to use it to scratch words into lettering. Even as he wrote, he worried his so-far-fair 'dictation' to the city would wither. The faster everything went, the better, and he could stop being akin to a ruler. Once he was out of this minor position of power, the chance of his slipping up and failing his own kind would dissipate.

_Althea, Queen of the respectable and fair Lilty Kingdom..._


End file.
